In 2008 (or was it 2007?), the small label Art Yard released two 2-CD sets presenting the complete sessions Sun Ra made in Milan in 1978, a period during which he worked with a quartet line-up consisting of himself, Michael Ray, Luqman Ali, and John Gilmore. One of those albums, The Complete Disco 3000 Concert, recontextualized the concert excerpts released in the late ‘70s as the Disco 3000 LP (Media Dreams received the same treatment on the other 2-CD set). And now that same label has released, on a single CD, the original version of Disco 3000 (in remastered/restored form)… with the same liner notes by Michael Ray as in the 2-CD set! That said, the operation works in favour of Disco 3000, both in terms of sound quality and sequence. This leaner version is more focused, less eclectic, and more ecstatic. It’s a darn good Sun Ra record to boot, heavy in jam content. And small line-up equals better sound capture of each instrument. So I recommend this version over the 2-CD one. Unless you already own it, of course…

A good jazz record in a modern bop style. Pianist Oli Kuster’s playing shows flexibility, lyricism, a pretty sense of circumvolution, allthewhile remaining within the confines of daring yet highly accessible modern jazz. That said, in my eyes, the star of the record in clarinet player Jürg Bucher: supple sound, creative. Kuster’s compositions are enjoyable, and occasionally a tad dark, which adds to the record’s scope.

A bunch of Swedes out of nowhere – I didn’t know any of them prior to listening to this. And bang, Intertwined is a one-two punch. This sextet – sax, piano, guitar, electric bass, drums, percussion is playing what here in Quebec we call musique actuelle: creative, funny music build on confrontations, childlikeness, virtuosity, and byplays. Think Fred Frith or René Lussier. This is a total surprise and I’m completely won over. Discover them too![Below: “By No Means”. Find two more audio clips on Kopasetic’s website.]

A show played on a night Contraction shared the bill with Gentle Giant. A tape completely forgotten about, rediscovered 35 years after the fact, marvelously cleaned up. A performance that tops the group’s two studio records, energy-wise and tracklist-wise. A selection of songs that culls the essentials from the two LPs, AND adds three songs that were never recorded in the studio, one of them being the excellent “Le Temps fuit comme une ombre”. And yes, they play “La Bourse ou la vie” from A to Z. Christiane Robichaud is a fantastic singer, one of the great forgotten voices of Quebec (can we forget Céline? PLEASE FORGET CÉLINE!). A must, a lesson, a rite of passage.[Below: A sample from “Le Temps fuit comme une ombre.” More audio samples on this page.

Yvan Ouellet played keyboards in Toubabou and Ville Émard Blues Band. He also worked with Contraction, Raôul Duguay, and Marie-Claire Séguin. In 1979, he released what would remain his only solo album, Le Chant des choses. This is an enjoyable record, but not a great one. Here, Ouellet’s writing is jazzy on one stide, and strongly influenced by Duguay (the crooner, not the wacky L’Infonie singer) on the other). As a result, the album is soft, quiet, and a bit tame. But there’s a bunch of fine vocalists on here, including Christiane Robichaud (Contraction), Duguay, and Séguin.

And since it’s Friday PM and I’m already knees deep in ProgQuébec release, I’ll give the two Sloche reissues another spin. (You can read again my comments from 2009-11-16 and 2009-11-17if you wish to - I haven’t changed my mind.)